Dolly for wave tube exhaust machine



April 10, 1962 G. B. FLIEZAR ET AL 3,028,837

DOLLY FOR WAVE TUBE EXHAUST MACHINE Filed Nov. 18, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 1JII/VEN Q E April 10, 1962 e. B. FLIEZAR ET AL 3,028,887

DOLLY FOR WAVE TUBE EXHAUST MACHINE Filed Nov. 18, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2'T'UFWVEL-I April 10, 1962 G. B.IFLIEZAR ET AL 3,028,887

DOLLY FOR WAVE TUBE EXHAUST MACHINE Filed Nov. 18, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3,//u ffi\\f 3 I;

Q) In" Illli '7" am a/v 51 United States Patent filice 3,28,887 PatentedApr. 10, 1952 3,023,887 DULLY FGR WAVE TUBE EXHAIET MACHENE Geza B.Fliezar and inch 3. Monahau, Allentown, Pa, assignors to WesternElectric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of NewYork Filed Nov. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 853,963 7 Claims. ill. 141-65) Thisinvention relates to article treating apparatus particularly apparatuswherein articles are transferred successively to treating units.

In the present instance, the articles to be treated are traveling wavetubes which are elongated structures partially completed but requiringcertain finishing operations performed at spaced treating stations. Thetreating stations are at fixed positions requiring successivepresentation of the articles with their longitudinal center lines inperfect vertical positions to be received and acted upon by the treatingmeans of the ditlerent treating units.

The object of the present invention is a highly efiicient and practicalarticle treating apparatus.

According to the object, the invention comprises an article treatingapparatus having a track which is substantially circular in crosssection on which grooved rollers of a dolly ride for movement of thedolly longitudinally of the track and for adjustable rocking movement ofthe dolly on the track. A holder, for an article to be treated, ismounted on the dolly with its center line positioned to be coincidentwith the longitudinal center line of the article, and a pneumatic tiredwheel assisting the grooved rollers in supporting the dolly andcontaining air at variable pressure to rockably adjust the dolly on thetrack to assure location or the longitudinal center line of the articlein a vertical position.

Other features of the apparatus include means at each treating unit tolocate the dolly relative thereto and to hold it against displacement.Another feature includes a contact element for each treating unitresponsive to the action of the locating and locking means tointerengage a contact member of the dolly to condition circuits forenergization of treating means at the treating stations.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description when considered in con junction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the apparatusshowing the general structure of one of the dollies;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top plan view of the apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of one of the locating and lockingmeans together with the contact element moving means;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along the line 44of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary detailed view of portions of the locating andlocking means.

The article treating apparatus, shown schematically in FIG. 2, includesan article loading unit It) and article treating units 11, 12, 14, and15 disposed at fixed positions. A track 16 is mounted with respect tothe units It), Ill, 12, 14, and 15 to guide dollies 17 in apredetermined path relative thereto.

The dollies are identical in structure and a description of the dollyshown in FIG. 1 will apply to all. The dolly 17 has a housing 20 with apair of spaced bushings 21 (only one being shown) in the lower portionthereof to receive bearings 22 and spindles 23. The spindles 23 arefixed at their lower ends to heads 24 which support diagonallypositioned spindles, not shown, for grooved wheels or rollers 25. Thewheels 25 ride upon the track 16 which is substantially circular incross section and is supported at spaced positions by threaded shanks 27adjustable vertically in threaded bases 28 mounted at 29. Thisadjustable feature of the track is to permit initial setting of thetrack to assure positioning of articles 36 to be treated at preferredelevations with respect to their treating units. The contours of thewheels 25 and also the track 16 permit rocking movement of the dolly 17on the track about the longitudinal center line of the track to bringabout true vertical positioning of the center lines of the articles 30.

This rocking adjustment of the dolly about the track 16 is brought aboutthrough a pneumatic tired wheel 32 having a valve 33 for causingvariation of the pressure of air in the tire 34 of the wheel until thecenter line of the holder 35 for the article 30 is in a verticalposition. The wheel 32 rotatably supported at 37 is driven by a motor 38through the intermediate drive means 39 and 40 to propel the dolly alongthe track to advance the articles 30 from the loading station It to thesuccessive treating stations and back to the loading station.

The motor 38 receives its electrical energy from a conductive bar 41partially housed in a unit 42 extending parallel with the track andsupported at intervals by brackets 43. A hollow arm 44 carried by thedolly and mounted adjacent the motor 38 supports a brush 45 for formingelectrical contact between the motor through line 46 and the bar 4i.schematically the electrical circuit is completed through a source ofelectrical energy such as a battery 47, a control switch 48 to ground49. The other line 50 from the motor 38 extends to ground 51. This isone illustration for controlling the energizer-tion of the motor 38 todrive the dolly on the track 16. Suitable plates 52 are mounted in thefloor 53 at the various units with their upper surfaces lying in a givenplane to assure effective positioning of the articles 3% at the units.

In the present instance, thearticles are of the tubular type requiringevacuation prior to scaling and, for this reason, there are two likeholders 35 disposed at known spaced positions and conncted jointly to anexhaust unit 54 mounted in the housing 2t) of the dolly. In the presentinstance, the holders 35 are in general alignment with each other andonly one is shown in FIG. 1.

The exhaust unit 54 is driven by a motor 55 through connecting drivemeans 56. In the present illustration, the motor 55 is disposed in acircuit with lines 57 and 58 extending to the motor from a contactmember 59. The contact member 59 is to receive any one of a plurality ofcontact elements '60 mounted at the treating stations to complete atsome or all of the stations, the circuit to the motor 55 and to completeother circuits for these treating stations. A projection 61, mounted onthe dolly, has a recess 62 of the contour shown in FIG. 5 with outwardlyextending entrance surfaces 63 to guide a spherical member 64 into therecess 62.

The spherical member 64 is a part of the locating and holding means forthe dolly at each processing unit to assure accurate positioning of thearticles carried by the dolly with respect to the treating portions ofthe units. The spherical member 64 is mounted on the end of a rod 65which is movable in a fixed path through apertures of guides 66 mountedon the undersurface of a bracket 67 which is mounted fixedly at 68. Therod 65 is fixed to a piston rod 69 of an air cylinder 76 which is alsosupported by the bracket 67.

Suitable means, not shown, is selectively operable to control the aircylinder 76 such as through a valve normally active to hold the rod 65to the left, FIG. 3, and selectively actuable to force the rod underpressure to the right when the dolly is approximately in the positionadjacent the unit to force the spherical member 64 toward the recess 62and cause it to adjust the position of the dolly on the track byengagement with one of the 3 surfaces 63 and to lock the dolly againstmovement in the given position when entering the recess 62.

An actuator 71, mounted on the rod 65, is positioned to engage anormally open switch 72 and close it when the spherical member 64 entersthe recess 62. In the present illustration, the switch 72, when closed,causes move 1311i of the contact element 60 into the engagement with thecontact member 59 of the dolly. The contact element (it), with all ofits contact bars 74, is mounted on a slide '75 supported for movement ina given path on a guide 76. The slide 75 is fixed to a piston rod 77 ofan air cylinder 78 which is supported with the guide 76 on the bracket67. A solenoid valve, shown schematically at 79 held in the normalposition shown by a spring 80, connects a supply line 81 with air undera predetermined pressure to line 82 to hold the slide 75 with theelement 60 in the normal position shown while, at the same time,connecting line 83 to an exhaust line 34. When switch 72 is closed byactuator 71, a circuit, including a source of electrical energy such asa battery 85 and a normally closed switch 86, will energize a winding 87of the solenoid valve 79 to move the valve to connect line 83 with thesupply line 81 and line 82 with the exhaust 84, to move the slide 75, tomove the element 61') into engagement with the contact member 59.

A switch 96, mounted on the bracket 67 and normally open, has its rolleractuator 91 positioned to be actuated closed by the slide 75 when movingthe contact element into engagement with the contact member, to completean activating circuit for a control unit 92, which includes time controlswitching means, to set in motion the operating means rendered effectiveelectrically through lines 93, completed through the unit 92 from lines94, completed through the interengagement of the contact element withthe contact member.

Operation With the present apparatus, the articles are supported by andtransported to the different loading and processing or treating stationsby successive dollies 17 movable on the track 16 and individuallyadjustable relative to the track to assure vertical positioning of thearticles. The dollies are driven through their individual power meansdriving the single pneumatic tired wheel for each dolly and containingtheir individual exhaust units cooperating with the treating units infinishing the articles. In actual practice, the power means for drivingthe dollies are deenergized automatically as they enter the differentstations or reach the different units.

At this time, each dolly is located adjacent the position desired atwhich time the air cylinders 70 are operated to force the sphericalmembers 64 toward their recesses 62 to position the dollies on thetrack, to align the articles with the features of the treating units andto lock the dollies against movement until these treating operations, ineach instance, are completed. Furthermore, the treating units areinactive by themselves. They depend upon the presence of a dolly withthe articles to be treated and the locating and locking of the dollybefore the circuits at the different treating units can be completedthrough the automatic actuation of the moving means for the contactelements and the controlling of the switches to condition the circuitsfor operation through the timing unit 92 in each instance.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simplyillustrative of the application of the principles of the invention.Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled inthe art which will embody the principles of the invention and fallwithin the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. An article treating apparatus having a plurality of spaced units andcomprising a track having a cross sectional arcuate upper surface, adolly, said track guiding the dolly to said units successively, groovedwheels carried by the dolly to support the dolly for movementlongitudinally of the track and for adjustable rocking movement on thetrack, a holder mounted on the dolly to receive and support an articleto be treated having a longitudinal centerline coincident with acenterline of the h lder, sons to support the track relative to thespaced units, a main wheel spaced from and assisting the grooved Wheelsin supporting the dolly, a pneumatic tire mounted on the main wheel andinflatable through a valve of the tire with different pressures to rockthe dolly on the track to locate the centerline of the holder andarticle in a predetermined vertical position relative to the units whenmoved into registration therewith, a socket of a given size withoutwardly tapered entrance surfaces disposed at a given positionadjacent one side of the dolly, a plunger supported for movementadjacent one of the units, and means operable to move the plungerbetween a normal position away from the track and a locating positiontoward the track to force the plunger into the socket to locate thedolly on the track to locate the centerlines of the holder and articleat a given position relative to the unit.

2. An article treating apparatus according to claim 1 in which a contactmember is mounted at a fixed position on the dohy relative to thesocket, and a contact element aligned with the contact member andmovable into engagement therewith when the plunger is in the socket.

3. An article treating apparatus according to claim 2 in which means isresponsive to movement of the plunger into the socket to move thecontact element from a normal position into engagement with the contactmember.

4. An article treating apparatus according to claim 3 in which the lastnamed means is responsive to movement of the plunger out of the socketto disengage the contact element from the contact member and move thecontact element to its normal position.

5. An article treating apparatus according to claim 3 in which a timingunit controls a plurality of circuits completed by the engagement of thecontact element with the contact member, and a switch closed by movementof the contact element in engagement with the contact member to rendert. e timing unit effective.

6. An article treating apparatus according to claim 1 in whichsupporting plates for the main wheel are mounted in a given planeadjacent each apparatus unit to assure accurate positioning of thearticle relative to said units.

7. An article treating apparatus according to claim 2 in which thearticle is of a tubular structure, an operable exhaust unit supported bythe dolly and connected to the holder to exhaust the article, and amotor energizable by the engagement of the contact element with thecontact member to drive the exhaust unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,445,612 Dobbins Feb. 13, 1923 1,816,543 Michelin July 28, 19311,922,738 Kelley Aug. 15, 1933 2,324,559 Cooke July 20, 1943 2,532,315Johnson et al. Dec. 5, 1950 2,656,964 Detrez Oct. 27, 1953 2,733,931Reid et al. Feb. 7, 1956 2,761,601 Van Vooren Sept. 4, 1956 2,886,165Eger May 12, 1959

